Many types of golf putters have heretofore been developed for the purpose of improving the chances of an ordinary player to properly strike the golf ball. These developers have concentrated on improving the putter's head shape, obtaining a better balance for the head, changing the ball-striking surface, placing indicia on the head, and the like.
As examples of such golf putters, attention is directed to the following U.S. Pat. Nos. Des.: 196,734, 218,178, 234,206, 234,207, 234,208, 234,209, 234,858, 235,567, 236,517, 239,401, 239,402 and 239,725.
In U.S. Pat. No. 3,219,348 is described a golf putter featuring a handle having a triangular cross section which is supposed to provide a stablizing means for gripping the club.
In U.S. Pat. No. 3,578,332 is described a putter having an elongated head and is provided with an enlargement projecting upwardly from the top surface of the head and outwardly from the rear surface with the shaft connecting to the head at the enlargement.
In U.S. Pat. No. 3,923,308 is described a putter having a head provided with a vertical slot of sufficient width and length dimensions to permit visual observations therethrough of the undersurface, that is, the putting green.
The above-mentioned patents describe golf putters that employ conventional stances in which the player stands with his feet substantially perpendicular to the line of putt.
In U.S. Pat. No. 3,679,207 is described a different type of golf putter for use with a side putting style referred to as a "croquet style." With this putter the player must use a side stance, that is, he must face the target or cup and stand with both feet substantially parallel to the line of putt. This putter is provided with an extra-length shaft which angulates by about 10.degree. from the vertical and terminates in a special-purpose handle. The shaft is made purposely longer than a standard shaft such that the player can putt from a generally upright position. For this purpose, the shaft is about 50 inches long compared to a standard shaft which is about 40" long. The angulation of the shaft at 10.degree. directs the shaft towards the head of the player when the head of the putter is located to one side of the player. The putter head is weighted and a counter-balancing weight is included on the upper end of the handle. This putter requires that one player's hand be placed on the balance point along the shaft and the other hand on the handle. The putter is pivoted at the top of the handle.
As is well known, the stance or style of the player contributes significantly to his putting ability and his ultimate chances of success. This is especially true since a large percentage of all strokes in regulation golf play are putts. Moreover, putting skill is developed with relatively few available guidelines compared to the rest of the golf game, resulting in heavy dependence on the part of the player and on the physical embodiment of his preferred putter.
It is also evident that for a full understanding of the advantages of one type of putter versus another type, consideration must be given to the putting style to be employed with the particular golf putter.
Accordingly, the golf putter of this invention has been developed for both conventional putting styles as well as for use with a side putting style which is relatively simple, requires very little skill, and removes most of the uncertainty as to alignment between the ball and the target.
The primary advantage of the side putting style in accordance with this invention is ease of putting alignment. The putter is made to function as a natural extension to the arm of the player whose shoulder serves as the pivot point for both the arm and the putter: there is no relative motion between the putter and the arm and both swing in the direction of the target.
The swing of the arm and putter will be along a line which is generally parallel to the direction of the player's feet. Therefore, aligning the foot adjacent to and alongside the ball in the direction of putt prior to putting adds considerable assurance to the player. Moreover, obtaining a proper sight alignment, with the player's head in an upright position facing the putt, allows the use of both eyes for gauging the distance of the target and greatly contributes to improved depth perception.
When used with the conventional stance, the golf putter of this invention is designed to ensure that the player's head is directly over the ball, and the horizontal distance between the player's hands and line of putt is minimized, thereby reducing the tendency to pull short putts.